Snake bites increase during rainy years, study finds

Thursday

May 16, 2019 at 2:44 PM

Looks like rain showers bring more than just flowers. A study done in California shows that snake bites occur more frequently when it's rainy.

The research team, led by Caleb Phillips of University of Colorado Boulder and Grant Lipman of the Stanford University School of Medicine, looked at 20 years of snakebite data in California. They found that with every 10% increase in rainfall over the previous year and a half, cases of snake bites in California’s 58 counties spiked by 3.9%.

The researchers believe that a snake's food — mice and other rodents — flourish during rainy years, allowing snakes to flourish as well. Flourishing snakes means more snake bites.

Phillips, an avid trail runner a trained wilderness first responder and emergency medical technician had some advice if you come into contact with a snake.

“If you encounter a rattlesnake, don’t pick a fight with it, and it won’t pick a fight with you,” Phillips said in a statement.

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